Your PC Performance Checklist
Your computer is like a car. With proper maintenance and tune-ups, you can keep it running right.
May 2011
by Robin Wark
Various factors affect your computer's performance. By addressing the areas where problems commonly develop you can help your machine operate fast and error free. The checklist below can help you speed up your computer and maintain your PC's performance. We recommend checking the health of your computer with PC Health Advisor before reviewing the checklist:
Defrag hard drive: Sometimes your computer must divide up your files and put bits and pieces wherever it can. It takes your computer longer to find all of these pieces and recall the file. Defragmentation puts the pieces where they belong so that files can be recalled more quickly and easily.
Clean Windows registry: The Windows registry, a large and complex database of settings and preferences, can have a big impact on performance. Over time it can become unstable, full of unneeded items and broken links. By using software to clean and repair the registry, you can improve how your PC operates.
Reduce startup items: When you turn on your computer, various programs and processes start. Some of these, such as key Windows processes and your anti-virus software, should be starting at when you boot up. However, when other programs launch at this time they are just taking up resources that could be better used elsewhere. You can control which programs launch at startup with computer software or by going through the Start menu.
Update drivers: Device drivers are small programs that allow your Windows operating system and software to communicate effectively with your hardware devices, such as displays, sound cards, graphics cards and printers. By regularly updating device drivers, you can improve your system's stability as well as receive the latest bug fixes, new features and possible security improvements. Some software can help you accomplish this task.
Defend against malware: Viruses, spyware, Trojans, keyloggers and other malware can cause all kinds of problems for your PC. As well as their malicious missions, these programs can cause instability in your computer because they are not designed with your PC's health in mind. Regular scans to remove malware are necessary and you should consider active protection software to block unwanted downloads.
Remove clutter: Your PC collects a vast amount of information, but having too much data on your computer can slow things down. You should consider removing software you don't need or hardly use. As well, you should pare down the numbers of files you have on your machine. You can always put ones - such as large video, music and photo files – that you don't use often onto flash drives, CDs or DVDs. It also is good to remove duplicate files to free up disk space. Deleting your web browser's history, cached information and privacy files on a regular basis can help your browsing performance as well as protect your confidential information.
Regular maintenance of your computer will keep it operating well. Keeping track of what you need to do can be complicated. Hopefully, the above PC performance checklist will help.
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